


Hot Train Guy

by endemictoearth



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: F/M, Meet-Cute, Trains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8316712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endemictoearth/pseuds/endemictoearth
Summary: I could have sworn that there was a post or a prompt floating around that inspired this, like “Person A tries to take a sneaky picture of Person B to show their friends and gets caught,” but can I find it in my archive or drafts? No, I cannot. So, anyway, whether I read it or my brain invented it, please enjoy!





	

There he was again.

Rae recognized the shape of him through the grimy train window as it pulled into her station. It was November and he was wearing a smart navy peacoat, just like the past few times she’d seen him. He leaned back a little in his seat while his legs stretched straight out in front of him. No man spreading for him; he was more of a trip hazard.

She took a shaky shallow breath, suddenly feeling unaccountably nervous. The train doors opened and she stepped on, glancing to the left, away from Hot Train Guy, to see if there were any seats. There weren’t many. One was next to a portly middle-aged gentleman in a boxy polyester suit. He gave her a leering smile, which didn’t appeal. She then swiveled back and saw one open across the aisle from Mr. Fit-As. Gripping the strap of her bag tighter, she slid along the aisle to claim it.

Last night, at her regular drinks do with Chloe and Iz, she’d mentioned Hot Train Guy in an offhand way. She was tired of Chloe always hounding her about not having a boyfriend, so she said there was a bloke on the train she’d been making eyes at. Well, it might have been her fourth whiskey sour that said it, but it was out there. Her attraction to a man she’d never spoken to and likely never would speak to was floating free in the universe.

Shit.

He reminded her a little of Brandon, this impossibly fit lad in the year above at college. Brandon became her primary reason for going to college at all, just to see a glimpse of him in the hall each day.

Rae found herself dressing up a bit these days, holding her head a little higher, just on the off chance Hot Train Guy might notice her.

She thought he might have been looking her way one day last week, but she got on after him and he got off before her, so it was really just the four stops they had together. And she was busy trying not to look like she was looking at him, so … results were inconclusive.

And he wasn’t there every day. Well, she supposed he might be, just not on the same car as her. She always walked along to the first or second train car, as they tended to be less full. She still felt self-conscious on the Tube; afraid someone would call her out or give her the evils if her hip slipped over into the seat next to her, even by a fraction of an inch.

But she’d been solidly choosing the second car now for a few weeks, since she’d start noticing Mr. Fit. And, now that she thought about it, she’d seen him with increasing frequency. She bit the inside of her lip thoughtfully, but then shook her head to dismiss the seed of a fanciful notion.

At their local the previous evening, Chlo and Iz had been at her for details:

**_What does he look like, babes?_** She could hardly find the words. He wasn’t remarkably tall, or remarkably short, for that matter. He carried himself like he was taller than his average height, maybe. Only once had they been standing at the same time, on a particularly busy morning when neither of them could find a seat. Rae reckoned she was probably an inch or two taller than him. Brown hair and eyes, but, like, remarkably brown. Warm, shiny chestnut hair and … hell, his eyes were warm and shiny, too. She was basically describing a puppy. 

_**Is he married?**_ Rae just shrugged at them, clueless. _**Does he wear a ring?**_  She never looked for that sort of thing. It wasn’t like she’d have a chance to attract or plan to seduce him or anyone else, single or no.

But, today, with the question still in her mind, she glanced casually across the way, looking at his suede shoes with the scuffed soles, then at his dark wash jeans, up to the hem of his wool coat, nonchalantly searching for his hands. His left hand was resting on his knee, nothing there; his right hand was … in front of his face. He was absent-mindedly biting the corner of his thumbnail, but froze when he realized she was looking at him. No rings there either, she noted, dropping her head to stare at her own hands.

**_Does he, y’know, SEEM single?_ ** Rae didn’t know how to tell. He always rode the train alone in the mornings, but that wasn’t unusual for anyone to do. He was so handsome, Rae assumed he probably had either a girlfriend, or a string of girls. But, then, she was basing that solely on his attractiveness. His manner, his behavior didn’t suggest that he was a stud. If anything, he seemed a little quiet and … almost awkward. He wasn’t tripping over his own feet, or anyone else’s, but he didn’t exude conceit or pride. He seemed … really, really _nice_. As nice as someone you’d never spoken to could seem, that is.

She squirmed a bit, wondering if he was still looking at her, if he was trying to figure out why she’d been looking at him. She pulled out her phone for something to do; swiping her unlock pattern and opening Twitter.

**_You should take a picture of him and show us!_ ** Why did she have to remember them hounding her for fifteen minutes, begging her to snap a sneaky photo?

She clicked on the camera icon and was so nervous, she forgot to turn the sound off. So, when she squinted at her phone and surreptitiously hit the button on her screen, a loud click sounded throughout the mostly silent car. “Fuck!” she muttered, and jammed her finger on the volume button until the mute signal flashed. Then she scrolled to close her photo app.

When she allowed herself to sneak a peek at Hot Train Guy, he wore an expression somewhere between amusement and annoyance. “Did you just take a picture of me?” he asked, in a low voice, so not everyone on the car looked up. Just the few people around them.

“Shit, sorry!” She fumbled with her phone in her hands. “I was trying to take a … um, you know …” She floundered for the word, pointing at her own face instead. “ …  selfie? Sorry, this is a new phone. Sorry,” she bluffed, badly. “Bollocks! Here, I’ll delete it.” She hit the ‘upload to cloud’ icon and waited for the the little wheel to stop spinning. Then cursed again for show, and hit the actual delete button.

Rae felt as embarrassed as if Hot Train Guy had actually caught her taking a selfie. She turned the phone around as evidence, so he could see the DELETED message on her screen, then started to shove her phone back in her bag.

“Shame,” he murmured, leaning back.

“Huh?” she asked, wishing he would get off the train. Surely it must be his stop by now?

“You should’ve taken that selfie; you look lovely today.”

The guy in the ill-fitting suit snickered out loud at this, and Rae flushed an even deeper shade of pink. She shook her head, slung her bag over her shoulder, and stood up to hang on to the overhead bar, swaying unsteadily as the train slowed into the next station. This wasn’t her stop, but she had to get off the train. She was going to have to move to Manchester and change her name, even though there was no way he could know it.

The doors were being held closed for a moment as the train moved forward another few feet. Rae was trying to get her breathing under control without hyperventilating in front of a crowd. She was vaguely aware someone was standing next to her, but she was too busy concentrating on keeping her breath as even as possible. She even counted a succession of silent one-to-tens, something she hadn’t had to do in a long time.

This was why she didn’t try and meet new people or date or even flirt. It inevitably ended in disaster.

The doors opened and Rae stumbled off onto the platform as she pulled her phone out to text her boss she might be a little late.

Just as she hit ‘Send’, she lurched forward again when someone bumped into her. She didn’t fall, though, as a hand reached out to grab her elbow and steady her.

She righted herself and turned to thank the stranger who helped her, and found herself staring into the same pair of warm brown eyes she’d been mooning over all morning. All month, really.

“You alright?” His eyes were still shiny, but now they gleamed with concern.

Nodding, she just wanted to find a place to sit down, catch her breath, and gather her thoughts. “Yeah, fine! Thanks for …” she waved her hand as she shook her head. “You should go, don’t wanna make you late for … whatever. Thank you, though!”

“I’m not … There’s nothing to be late for. I … my boss is cool. I don’t need to clock in at a specific time. Can I get you something? Water? Tea? I really didn’t mean to embarrass you back there.”

A glance out of the corner of her eye confirmed that he did look chagrined, even a little upset.

“Ummm …” she began.

Before she could demur, he jumped in with, “I’m actually glad this happened. I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now. Just … couldn’t think what to say. I’m not that great with words, and all the usual conversation starters sound so cheesy.”

Rae’s eyes widened in shock, and she only noticed that he was still holding onto her when the crowd around them jostled them closer together. She tore her gaze from his and looked at the station. “Isn’t there a coffeeshop near this stop?”

He smiled at that, and laughed as he replied, “This is London. There are coffeeshops everywhere.”

Her heart dropped in her chest and she felt a bit stupid, but she couldn’t help smiling at that.

“Oh, right.”

He held out his elbow for her to take. “So, let’s go find one … errrr?” He faltered, and she realized that he was asking her name.

“Oh! Rae.”

“Rae,” he repeated, with a smile. “Good to finally meet you. I’m Finn.”

He gestured for her to go first on the escalator. She hesitated for a second, but noted the crowd and stepped on to get out of the way. He did the same, keeping a respectful tread-length between them, but leaned forward to mutter in a low voice, “It’s nice to know your actual name; I’ve just been calling you Hot Train Girl in my head.”

Hearing that, Rae was quite happy to be ahead of him, so he couldn’t see the face she made: eyes squinted shut in glee, and a giant gum-baring grin that swallowed up the lower half of her face. All he heard, after her pause to squee, was, “Have you really?”

* * * * *

(By the way, Rae did end up sending Chloe and Izzy a picture of the hot guy from the train later in the day. It was a selfie, that _he_ took, with her—the hot girl from the train.)


End file.
